The Children on the Roof
by StrangersTalk
Summary: The peculiar friendship of two lonely people. *Set in a modern day alternate universe*
1. All Our Friends on Abbey Street

_AU: Downton Abbey in the modern world. Just think of it as like an indie movie... about life and like, hipsters. _

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**Part 1: ****All our friends on Abbey Street**

Edith Crawley was looking in the mirror. Two pair of hazel eyes were staring blankly back at her, something a little uneven about them. Her hair was golden, short and rather plain and her nose more prominent than she would have liked. Her lips were alright.

There was a rapping at the door and Edith moved to open it.

It was Mary with her perfectly arched eyebrows. Her sister stood there, hands on her hips, eyes raking over the younger woman's attire with disdain.

"Did someone die in that?"

Edith crossed her arms self consciously. Her short sleeved dress, covered in black sequins patterned with red and green beads shaped into large roses, stopped just above her knees, flowing straight and doing no justice to her body shape. So it was a bit old fashioned, pinched from an op shop and all, but Edith was an old fashioned kind of girl. Her parents never understood why she bought clothes that had been worn before… it wasn't like as if they couldn't afford new ones. But Edith did many things her family never understood.

"What in god's name are those…" Mary continued, her inspection advancing towards Edith's spotted mint coloured stockings down to her brown leather brogues. Edith's face immediately felt hot with rage as her sister squeezed past her and walked about the room. The fish tank on the bedside table caught Mary's attention and she cringed her face in disgust and averted her eyes.

"How you can wake up every morning to that… thing is disturbing."

"What do you want?" Edith snapped impatiently.

Mary gave her a questioning look with an inclined eyebrow, "first of all… those shoulder pads-"

"Argh!" Edith groaned rolling her eyes as she pushed past Mary and made her way downstairs, the volume of noise increasing as she approached. She wouldn't give her sister the satisfaction by changing her attire, but as she was met with about a dozen pairs of eyes in the living room alone she suddenly felt as if everyone was judging her now that Mary had already made her feel less than adequate.

"Edith!" her younger sister called out from across the room, surrounded by her high-school friends.

"Good, I told Mary to get you… I wanted you to meet someone."

Sybil, on the other hand, sweet Sybil, told her she liked her dress which earned a small smile from Edith before she attended to Sybil's company; two out of three of whom she already knew.

There was Thomas; Thomas who made heads turn, girls and boys alike, but only responded to the latter. He had a snobby, and smug countenance yet was strikingly handsome with dark hair greased back, blue eyes and sharp features. He wore a denim jacket with a simple white shirt underneath and black jeans.

Then there was polite little Gwen; a ginger haired girl with green eyes, spotted with freckles in her flowery summery dress and blue cardigan.

At last Sybil introduced a shy young man, clad in a brown leather jacket, black pants and very worn out sneakers. His hair was combed back with a bit of a lick hanging over his forehead. Tom his name was and from what Edith gathered during the conversation; the dropkick musician turned mechanic apprentice who lived down the road.

Where Sybil found these friends, she didn't know. Then again Sybil didn't find friends, they found her. And one could say the same about Mary and her suitors.

Her older sister had just stalked across the room with her blonde and blue-eyed boyfriend, Matthew in tow, possibly heading into the library. As she did, Edith noticed people's heads turning and their expression changing into awe at the sight of her sister as usual. Edith observed rather bitterly, the maroon dress that clung to Mary in all the right places and as much as she hated to admit it, Mary did look quite nice. Matthew certainly thought so. Dear, sweet, Matthew who acknowledged Edith with a smile before he was dragged away by the devil. Sometimes she thought he was the only person that really saw her and Edith ignored the small painful tugging at her heart.

She returned to the present company; Sybil conversing animatedly with her friends, something about an upcoming party… which they were invited to. All but Edith obviously, and feeling rather awkward now that she couldn't contribute much to the topic, her attention fleeted around the room.

She observed the older women mingling at the sofas; granny being a racist and Matthew's mother Isobel politely disagreeing with her while Aunt Rosamund and her mum exchanged awkward here-we-go-again glances. John and Anna, old friends of Edith's parents back when they were in college were huddled together in a corner making eyes at eachother like puppies over a plate of cheesecake; still going strong like lovesick teenagers well after years of marriage. By the window was her father with his work mate Molsley, in a loud discussion of sorts like they were at opposite sides of the field, on the subject of which was most likely cricket judging from all the dramatic arm movements flailing about.

Moments later, in a room full of strangers, Edith mentally unglued herself from the ochre wallpaper and moved to the dining room, bumping into Mrs Hughes, the elder lady from next door, and her _friend _MrCarson, residing opposite the Crawley's house, at the doorway about to leave with plates full of canapés.

"Edith! You look… charming," Mrs Hughes said non too confidently, her eyes flickering from Edith's head to her very toes as she smiled with difficulty.

"Thanks Mrs Hughes… hello Mr Carson," Edith mumbled with embarrassment before she marched stiffly for the cheese platter.

She pushed down the bubbling frustration with a mouthful of crackers and cheese and turned to the kitchen, stopping in her tracks as she noticed the man leaning against the kitchen counter holding a beer in one hand staring at her. He was tall, lean and fair haired - and if that wasn't the ugliest hawaiian shirt she'd ever seen she didn't know what was.

"Hello," he said in a deep voice.

"Hi," she replied, cautiously watching the unfamiliar man as she walked towards the refrigerator situated in front of him. She opened the door, rummaged inside, closed it again and leant back and faced him, clutching a bottle of Corona. Now that she could see him closer he had deep set sparkling blue eyes and a slightly crooked… slightly large nose. His thin, fine hair was blonde, roots were brown, short and falling to to either side of his face. He had a few wrinkles here and there. He was probably in the middle of his forties.

"Are you old enough to drink that?" he asked motioning to the drink in her hands slightly amused.

She only smiled at him as she unfastened the lid, taking a rather girly sip, before holding the bottle awkwardly in her hands trying not to cringe. Edith felt like a fifteen year old experiencing alcohol for the first time. In fact, it was her first time - at nineteen… _oh my god, that's embarrassing_, she thought. He pulled away from the wooden counter and glanced around, grabbed a lemon off the fruit basket and asked her, "may I?"

Edith moved to a drawer near the sink, pulled out a knife and handed it over to him. He cut the lemon on the sink and motioned for her drink. He slipped a slice inside then returned it to her.

"Should taste slightly better now," he told her. She tried it. So there was a mere lemon tang to it, but it still tasted bad, yet she gave a small nod of approval and thanked him.

They enjoyed their drinks in silence for a short while awkwardly smiling and catching and avoiding each other's gaze, listening to the mixed chatter coming from the other rooms.

So Edith wasn't much of a fashionista, but even a blind person would agree that his salmon coloured top belonged in a fire.

"So… do you live around here?" Edith started trying to sound as natural as she could.

"I live about six houses down… your father invited me," he said conversationally.

"Really? I've never seen you…" she mused. Her father never mentioned him. Or maybe he had but she forgot.

He smiled kindly at her and said, "I don't really like to go out much."

Edith smiled back.

"Neither do I."

And so it was, inside the Crawley house, between the fridge and the kitchen counter, two unlikely strangers began a conversation of sorts.

* * *

_AN: Not too happy with the summary yet... "__The peculiar friendship of two lonely people." I should just rename the whole thing _"two annoying hipsters smoking pot and listening to the Smiths..."

_Anyway, as you can see I will be drawing many similarities of the original universe and put it into context. So that should be fun._


	2. A Fish Named Herbert

AN: The song further down the chapter is The Night Has Opened My Eyes by The Smiths.

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**Part 2: A Fish Named Herbert**

"… peach, canned peach, those little yoghurt tubs with sliced peach and syrup," the man was saying before taking his third beer to his lips.

"Say peach one more time."

"Peach," he grinned.

Edith laughed for no reason and noted her head was lighter than usual.

"Have you always wanted to run a peach factory?" Edith asked. The older man frowned, thinking about it for a moment.

"It's a family business," he answered with a shrug, though Edith noticed something passing across his face and when he gazed down at his drink she knew he was lost in his thoughts.

The two of them were sitting on the floor of the kitchen, Edith leaning against the fridge, and the man against the counter with empty bottles of beer, a bowl of grapes, a cheese platter and a bowl of crisps between them, having made quite a little party for themselves. They had been engaged in conversation for some time about all sorts of things. At one stage they even discussed some of the other guests.

"… He was the last batter and here we all were just waiting for this amazing thing to happen because you know, it's Moslely. Everything was leading up to this moment. Anyway, he totally missed and the ball hit the stumps and then - and then…" Edith had bursted out laughing then as she remembered and started to reenact the scene to him.

"You see him dramatically falling to his knees and as he bent over to cover his face with his hands, his - his wig slipped off… and everyone just… died."

Edith was in hysterics, the man laughed even more because of Edith. Her laugh would resound and then reduce into silent fits. She would wrap her arms around her middle like she was stopping her ribs from breaking. The man found her to be very amusing.

Now the conversation had steered to a more personal topic and it was his turn to ask Edith about her life.

"So what about you?" he continued in curiosity. "What do you do or what do you want to do? You're erm… still in school?"

"No, no. I graduated last year."

"So that would make you…"

"Nineteen."

"I see… any future plans? College? Apprenticeship? Part-Time Job?"

"Well I'm taking a gap year because I don't really know what to do yet."

Edith sighed. The truth was she really didn't want to talk about it. Her parents and grandma Violet were always harassing her about colleges, courses and applying for scholarships. For a while she thought about being a writer but when asked what kind of writer to which she would reply, "writing novels," - well the reaction was as not unusual for Edith.

"Fiction?" Granny spat out after having choked on her tea, throwing questioning looks at her mother and father who would move in their seat uncomfortably with their downcast eyes like a pair of berated children denying it was ever their fault.

Heated arguments would ensue leaving her sulking for the rest of the day.

"Yeah… I don't know," she finally let out in a breath, sounding a little aggravated and quickly smiled apologetically after realising she might have offended him. She suddenly felt the need to continue because after all he had answered her every question. She didn't know where to start though, and knew that if she did it would instigate a fairly long vent about the unending battle of approval that her life was.

To her surprise he didn't trouble her on the subject unlike everyone else who made her try to think about it like Mrs Hughes for example.

"Well dear, what are you good at? What do you like to do?" her tender, motherly voice would say - _as if they all give a damn,_ Edith seethed. _As if I don't know the answers to those questions - it's my bloody life!_ No one seemed to understand that she just didn't want to talk about it! As if talking about it ever changed anything -

"We don't have to talk about it if you don't want to," the man said as if reading her thoughts.

Edith just looked at him. He was smiling kindly as he so often did and she noticed how her shoulders relaxed - she didn't even know they had been so tense. At that moment she found a true appreciation and gratefulness for this man who barely knew her and she hand't felt that about anyone in a long time.

"Do you want to see my fish?" Edith suddenly blurted out.

...

Blue eyes magnified and warped as he peered inside the round tank. His faced was a mixed expression of disgust and curiosity.

"What is it?"

"A mexican walking fish," she said rather fondly. "Do you want to touch it?"

He looked at her incredulously as well as amused.

"No. I think I'll pass…"

Edith left him as she rummaged around her collection of albums in her bookshelf before pulling one out and inserting it into the CD player.

"What a funny little thing!" the man continued, completely in awe. She found it quite amusing to see the grown man, almost two metres tall, towering over the tank, eyes fixed on the yellow creature in the bowl swimming around a miniature boot.

"What's his - or her name?" he asked, looking over his shoulder, seeing Edith moving over to sit on the bed.

Quickly glancing around for a chair and finding none, he moved towards the adjacent wall and leaned against it. It wouldn't do for him to share a mattress with a teenager in case anyone happened to walk past the doorway and leap into assumptions. A vision of Robert with his hunting rifle at the doorway materialised in the back of his mind.

"Apparently it's too young to tell," Edith replied, letting herself fall on the bed as she stared at the ceiling.

"But I hope it's a male because I've already named it Herbert."

He smiled at that, and lowered himself once again, now on his knees to watch Herbert, the frilly lizard crossed eel, slash, mutant fish resting on the pebbles.

"Mary won't even look at it," she said. "I know he's a bit weird, but I like him."

"Oh look, it's smiling," the man piped up.

Edith chuckled.

"That's just his face."

"I know," he laughed. "Still… it's a nice thought."

For quite sometime they were silent. _A comfortable silence,_ Edith contemplated as the record played softly in the background.

_Oh, he said he'd cure your ills_

_But he didn't and he never will_

_Oh, save your life_

_Because you've only got one_

"They say the saddest people smile the most," Edith said in wonder, words slipping out of her mouth before she could stop it.

"Sorry, I don't know why I said that," she muttered. He looked up and regarded her for a moment, lying there with her arms sprawled beside her. He smiled to himself.

"I would be if I was trapped in a tank," he said jokingly. She then sprang up from the bed with a scandalised expression.

"He's not trapped! He has plenty of room... he loves it!" she exclaimed.

"Does he?" he smirked rather boyishly.

"Your not one of those extreme animal activists are you…?"

He laughed.

"I'll get him a bigger tank when he gets older!"

"He knows I take very good care of him," she added smugly but in good spirit.

"I'm only kidding," he said, smiling from ear to ear. "And I know you do - no doubt he's in very good hands."

She grabbed a pillow and threw it at him and they laughed some more.

_A shoeless child on a swing_

_Reminds you of your own again_

_She took away your troubles_

_Oh, but then again_

_She left pain_

_So, please save your life_

_Because you've only got one_

_The dream has gone_

They had been talking about all sorts of topics and it didn't matter if she had little knowledge or no interest in it, she found herself being curious and responsive all the same, because he was. It was nice for a change just to talk to someone. _Really_ talk to someone. Talking in Edith's world was only a matter of speaking and hearing. She found however, talking with this man, was a completely different story. Regardless of whether or not they had a lot or few in common, it was the mutual sense of open mindedness and the eager interest between them that drove the conversation along very comfortably.

So comfortably that it was all too soon when it was time to leave.

The party had come to its inevitable close and they said their farewells and escorted the guests.

Outside, near the front gate was Edith. After having assisted Granny into Aunt Rosamund's car, she now stood before the man in the horrid hawaiian shirt, a whole head taller than her.

"Well it was nice meeting you -" Edith started, her eyes widening as she realised she never asked.

"Anthony," he told her craning his neck to speak as levelly as he could to her.

"Oh my god, I can't believe we spent -" it suddenly registered in Edith's mind - _a whole day together..._

"- and we didn't even bother with the introductions," he finished for her. She sighed, and grinned up at him offering her hand.

"I'm Edith," she said as he took her small hand inside his warm larger one and shook it.

"I know."

She looked at him a little puzzled and he continued, "your father talks about you and your sisters a lot... I had a feeling you would be Edith."

_Whatever had her father been telling Anthony?_ She wondered slightly alarmed.

"And is it true? What he said?"

"Perhaps," he teased with a mischievous twinkle in his blue eyes. But his voice was kind and his smile kinder. And as he looked at her, Edith realised she didn't care what her father said, because she decided Anthony was nice and he would only think of her as he knew her.

"Anthony!"

It was Robert. He slapped the man on his shoulder and turned to his daughter to say, "Oh Edith - go and help your mama put away the food."

He turned to Anthony again.

"I barely saw you - I almost forgot you were here!"

_Why can't Mary do it. _Edith thought, glaring at her father before she obliged. Mary and Matthew were whispering in each other's ears as she passed them just before the steps and Edith couldn't help but roll her eyes in annoyance.

She could hear Anthony and her father's conversation behind her.

"I hope you enjoyed yourself."

"I did. Very much, thank you."

"I'm really glad you came tonight - I know it's been hard for you - "

"Robert- Robert," he said stopping the man from going any further which sparked curiosity in Edith. _What did her father mean by that?_ she wondered. But that thought quickly left her when he said the next thing.

"I'm glad I did. It was good. Trust me… I -"

Edith looked back then and found Anthony looking at her.

"… I had a wonderful time."

...

That night in her bedroom, on a table beside her, Herbert calmly rested amongst the pebbles wrapped around the miniature boot ornament in the middle of the bowl.

"What are you smiling about?" Edith asked the creature, grinning to herself.

It had been a good day. She hardly enjoyed these occasions but this one was different. She had been happy. She _was_ happy.

Indeed, there was a lot to smile about.

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AN: The first chapter was an introduction of some of the characters and now we're finally getting into it!


	3. You Smell Like Peaches

_AN: Thanks for the reviews guys!_

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**Part 3: You Smell Like Peaches**

On a normal day, the Crawley house would be empty but for Edith. Cora was a stay home wife, but she liked going out and about and having lunch with friends. She had taken up yoga apparently. Robert went to work as a managing director at the national bank firm and Mary was a full time university student - of fashion - and if you could believe it no one had any objections to that. She would have liked to see Sybil more often but she was at school and after, would be volunteering at the children's hospital.

As for Edith, she had no idea what to do with herself. She was neither working nor studying; in between having completed her secondary studies and deciding what she wanted to do next. Her family disapproving of her choices of college courses, her father insisted she took her time to figure out more 'practical' options for a career. So Edith would usually spend her days locked up in her room reading, writing, doodling, completing one TV series after the other - on her so called road to self-discovery.

Today she decided she would go for a walk.

It was sunny out and the breeze made it that little bit more pleasant. As she strolled along the neighborhood she counted in her head the houses she passed. She knew full well why she was counting. She knew full well why she had even decided to go for a walk in the first place.

Just then a silver car slowed behind her, edging to the kerb before halting completely and killing the engine.

A tall, fair-haired man stepped out in a navy suit looking very business-like. Edith's face lit up when he lifted his sunglasses to reveal those familiar smiling blue eyes. His tie was so very Anthony from the party; it was diagonally striped in yellow, purple, green and white.

"Edith! Hello - how are you?" he greeted her cheerfully.

"I'm well, and you?"

"Better now."

She smiled at him.

"Tough day at work?"

"The usual," he said rolling his eyes. He saw her attention wandering to his house and he frowned.

"… As you can see, I've been a bit slack," he said observing his unkempt yard that unfortunately stood out in the neighborhood.

The house was one storey smaller than Edith's three, but wider. The walls were panelled and light blue and the windows were framed in a dark grey, the same colour of the roof. The veranda was without a fence as it was low anyway. There was a small circular table piled up with newspapers old and new, and two chairs. The yard hadn't been mowed for quite some time and the angled bushes against the fence surrounding the house needed trimming.

"I don't blame you, you're so busy running your factory."

"I wish it were all that…" he muttered with a slightly bitter smile before quickly asking if she'd like a drink.

"Sure."

He fumbled with the keys for a while and she giggled when he made a face when he nearly dropped it.

"Wait here," he instructed and went inside his house, the screen door clicking in place. As quickly as he had left, Anthony had appeared again with a worried expression.

"I've got orange juice and water… or I could make some tea if you like."

"Orange juice is fine thanks," Edith replied.

Anthony saw that she had been standing there awkwardly and nearly kicked himself. He apologized, rushed to the table and cleared the newspapers so that she could sit down. Struggling with the armful, he mumbled more apologies for having a rather dull selection of drinks and how he wouldn't allow himself to let her in the house.

"I haven't had any visitors for quite some time… I'd invite you in, but the house is a train wreck."

He returned shortly to the veranda with two glasses of orange juice and a plate of shortbread on a tray.

"So…" she started. They took their orange juice and biscuits.

"So," he repeated as they sat in front of his house.

She hesitated for a moment. She had been wondering whether or not to ask the next question and how she'd go about it without offending him.

"So, do you live by yourself?" she asked casually.

"Uh, yes… it's a big house for one person isn't it? I bought it along time ago thinking there would be more… but that's a conversation for another time," he replied grinning cheerfully to hide his embarrassment. It was Edith's turn to inwardly kick herself. A conversation for another time, and other company too. He clearly did not want to go there and clearly, not with her.

"I don't mean to offend you," he quickly said and she had to wonder if her face gave that much away or he was just really perceptive. Nobody was ever that perceptive, or maybe nobody cared, everybody was just used to it – Edith being the sulky Edith that she was.

"It seems like I know so much about you and you know so little of me… but - it is a long story and it's a bit of a droll… and…erm..."

She could tell behind the friendly curve of his lips, he was greatly troubled by it. All the memories and emotions were well buried and here she was poking the surface with a shovel.

"It's okay, you don't have to tell me… now or ever. I'm sorry I asked, it's none of my business."

"Oh but it's a perfectly valid question! I'm just being a bit of a mope about it."

"Well then," Edith replied leaning over for another biscuit. "Let me know when you've finished moping. I like long stories, especially boring ones."

He smiled at that, a genuine one, and grabbed a shortbread too.

"Actually, if you'd like… I was thinking of going to the shops … I needed to pick up a few things… of course you don't have to - you probably have better things planned for the afternoon."

…

The man in the suit with the unforgivable tie pushed the small trolley down the aisle. Walking next to him was a young woman in her white-collared orange dress with her butterfly printed stockings.

Anthony stopped and busily observed the shelves of fuel, deliberating the options while Edith approached the opposite side.

"Need one of those too," he said now beside her, grabbing a hammer and placed it in the trolley. Edith turned to him and what came next was unexpected.

"Your arm is stuck under a rock. You can either saw it off or hammer it."

Anthony grimaced, thought about it and laughed.

"Could I use both? Hammer it to break the bone, and then saw the rest off?"

"You can't use both! I said 'either'"

"How big is this rock? Oh alright… well, why would anyone use a hammer? You'd just internally bleed to death."

Edith laughed.

"Here's one," Anthony proposed. "Would you eat your own arm, if it was surgically removed, or… have a lion bite it off and you will be in immense pain - but for only a short time, say fifteen seconds before you pass out."

"I'd eat my own arm of course. Apparently we taste like chicken."

"But what if you had to eat it raw?"

"You can't change the question!"

After they had finished with the hardware store they found themselves leisurely strolling around the centre.

"Look at us," Anthony said, as he pushed the trolley full of hazardous objects through the mall. "We're so ready for a zombie apocalypse."

"Speaking of zombie apocalypse, there's a horror silent film festival on in two weeks and they're showing White Zombie as well as a few others, but that's the one I particularly want to see."

He remained silent and she found that he seemed to have not heard her as he looked ahead lost in his own thoughts.

"Would you like to go with me?" she asked him cautiously.

But before she heard his reply, there was a hand on her arm- Anthony's. His face was white and with one hand on the trolley, the other was now dragging her rather quickly into a store.

"What's wrong?" Edith cried as he pulled them into an aisle that was the greeting card section. He let go of her arm then and she instinctually massaged where he had grabbed her. His expression immediately turned into concern as he reached for her arm again, this time more gently.

"Did I hurt you?" he asked her frowning, his thumb rubbing the spot where it had been white, then red then to its natural pink.

"No," she said quietly and saw his eyes for the very first time, the sad blue that they really were.

"What happened?" she asked him again.

"My ex-wife was back there. Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you."

"Oh, It's alright," she said kindly.

"She was with her fiancé."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be. I'm better off. She was a cheating, lying… so and so," he finished lamely.

...

"…I always had a feeling," Anthony was saying as they walked around the store. "It was in the back of my mind… but I was too busy working all the time. I wanted to give her the life she wanted, someone needed to pay for the house. I built the factory from scratch, thinking of it as something that would solve all our financial problems in the future and it did - and also something I could pass down to my children. But then we found out... well I'm bloody useless. I couldn't have children… so I showered her with things and gifts, and vacations because you know, I loved her."

He stopped to take a deep breath.

"Then she was diagnosed with breast cancer and that was really hard for both of us. After she won that battle, she still had to go for regular check ups. The check ups started to become almost too frequent, and here I was losing my own hair worried to bits - something's definitely wrong - the cancer's come back…"

He swallowed hard and laughed bitterly.

"I was a fool… she'd been having an affair with her doctor."

"Your father, he helped me through it, tried to get me back on my feet. He succeeded that time he dragged me to that party… thing is… I can't pin the blame all on her, I can see that it's my fault too."

She stopped him from walking as she placed a hand over his, hazel eyes boring into blue ones.

"You think you deserve this, but you don't."

A tiny smile appeared on his lips.

"Come on, let's get out of here," she said leading the way and he frowned at the thought if Maude was still out there. She noticed he was not following and looked back to see him glued to the spot. She approached him questioningly.

"I can't - I can't face her."

"Anthony!" She snapped, startling him. "You have nothing to be ashamed about! If anything, it should be her!"

Edith sighed.

"Wait here," she told him, leaving him quite confused at the kitchen appliances section. She returned after a couple of minutes and he nearly dropped the toaster he was studying when he saw her. She was wearing red lipstick, her cheeks were slightly pinker, and her eyes were darkly lined and there was a navy blue-ish tint on her lids.

"What are you doing?" he blurted out, his eyes wide.

"Don't you like it?" she said rather flirtatiously but in a joking manner.

"Well, yes - no - I mean yes - I mean - you look very nice," he stammered nervously. She then slipped out of her shoes and to his amazement, began to remove her stockings, revealing_ slender, milky white legs_ - _why was he even describing them like that?_ Anthony thought in horror. She tripped as she worked the second leg and grabbed onto Anthony's arm. In panic, Anthony glanced around in case anyone saw this less than appropriate display.

"Edith!" he hissed.

Once she straightened up again she told him to follow her, and he obliged hesitantly.

"Edith this is a very bad idea," he whispered loudly just behind her. Once they were outside, it looked like Anthony was about to break into cold sweat as she motioned towards the food court.

"Oh god they're still there," he said with clenched jaws but then he was distracted as Edith snaked her arm around his. He looked down at her astonished, and found the blonde girl only staring up at him with an unfamiliar expression that included slightly parted lips.

"Whose here?" she smirked. "It's just me, my love."

Anthony could swear he was going red and nobody spoke for a moment until Edith who couldn't contain her laughter, leaned into his arm so that her cheek rested on it and laughed into his sleeve.

"You smell like peaches," she mumbled and with that Anthony started laughing too.

"What am I going to do with you?" he said in wonder.

They didn't bother looking to see whether or not Maude and the doctor had seen them, even if that was the purpose of Edith's plan. Or that it was not only the engaged couple who were left dumbfounded and open-mouthed at the pair who were laughing together arm in arm, pushing their small trolley of dangerous things.

* * *

AN: Ohhh how ironic... hypotheticals about losing arms. Stay tuned :D


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